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SPRINT and the Kidney: What Have We Learned?

  • Mechanisms of Hypertension (M Weir, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

To review the impact of the Systolic Blood Pressure Interventional Trial (SPRINT) on renal function and chronic kidney disease.

Recent Findings

Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The benefits of intensive blood pressure lowering in the CKD population in previous studies are unclear. The SPRINT compared standard (< 140 mmHg) and intensive (< 120 mmHg) blood pressure management in nondiabetic patients with high risk of cardiovascular disease. In the subgroup of patients with CKD, the most important finding was that intensive blood pressure lowering is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Other than lower levels of albuminuria, there was no benefit on clinical kidney outcomes with the intensive treatment group. The risk of incident CKD and episodes of acute kidney injury was higher in patients in the intensive treatment group, though most patients with acute kidney injury recovered kidney function.

Summary

While the benefit of intensive blood pressure lowering on cardiovascular events and mortality with intensive blood pressure lowering is clear in patients with CKD, longer term follow-up may be needed to fully understand the effect on kidney function.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

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Funding

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Racquel Wells & Mahboob Rahman

  2. Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Mahboob Rahman

Authors
  1. Racquel Wells
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  2. Mahboob Rahman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahboob Rahman.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Rahman reports grants from NIH, during the conduct of the study; Dr. Wells declares no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Mechanisms of Hypertension

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Wells, R., Rahman, M. SPRINT and the Kidney: What Have We Learned?. Curr Hypertens Rep 20, 95 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-018-0895-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-018-0895-6

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